Introduction to Tartans

Introduction

A practical guide to the terminology, digital construction methods, and catalog conventions used for the tartan wallpapers and other seamless patterns at SeamlessTartan.com.

What is a tartan threadcount?

A threadcount describes the color bands of a tartan by pairing color abbreviations with numbers. Each number specifies how many threads of that color are used. A sequence such as K4 R24 W4 means four black threads, twenty-four red, and four white.

The repeating arrangement of those bands is called the sett.

Warp, weft, and true or false tartans

Warp threads run vertically; their threadcount determines the sequence of color bands from left to right. Weft threads run horizontally; their threadcount determines bands from top to bottom.

In the terminology used here, a true tartan uses the same threadcount in both directions, such as K12R6G4. A false tartan uses different counts for warp and weft. This site writes the warp first and the weft second, separated by a period, as in K12R6G4.K8W4G16.

Reversing and non-reversing setts

A reversing sett runs through its bands and back in reverse order. The first and last bands of the abbreviated count are its pivots. In K12R8G4, black and green are pivots, with red bands between them.

A non-reversing sett repeats the same sequence from its beginning, rather than reversing. An ellipsis marks that usage: K12R8G4....

The author has not encountered an example of a false tartan with mixed reversing and non-reversing specifications. A possible explanatory notation is K12R8G4.../W12R6G2, with a slash separating the directions and an ellipsis marking the non-reversing count. This is an illustrative house notation, not a claim of an official standard.

Shorthand for warp and weft

For cataloging and discussion, the original introduction also uses R for reversing and N for non-reversing, followed by a number indicating which threadcount is used:

Making the tile seamless

These wallpapers originated from hand-edited, two-color 8-by-8 Windows 3 desktop patterns, including the Tweed/Twill weave effect. A tile must repeat cleanly both horizontally and vertically, including the underlying weave phase.

In the older method, the author sometimes added or subtracted a digital thread—often in a broad band—to obtain dimensions divisible by four. Those historical alterations account for some ntc- files.

Current construction standard: preserve the authentic threadcount. If the pixel-weave phase requires a multiple of four, multiply every thread width by the same integer factor (preferably four) rather than changing the proportions of individual bands. Confirm the completed tile by testing a 3-by-3 repeat, without interpolation.

Filename conventions

Filenames indicate both the type of artwork and how its threadcount was obtained. These codes describe the author’s working conventions; they are not official classifications issued by the Scottish Register of Tartans.

For example, tile-tartan-ttc-Royal_Stewart_2.gif identifies a tiled tartan wallpaper made from a true threadcount, while tile-pattern-Poinsettia-ani.gif identifies an animated non-plaid pattern.

Artwork, Christmas favorites, and catalog symbols

All digital artwork in this collection was made by William Mortensen Vaughan, although many designs are based on the work of other artists and historic tartan specifications. The design and any underlying threadcount can have different authors or rights holders.

Tartans can add to Christmas decorating, particularly when they contain red, white, or green. This is a personal judgment rather than an objective designation. The author also considers some less conventional color combinations suitable for Christmas; for example, a black-and-yellow German tartan could make an attractive “ugly Christmas sweater.”